Reviewed By Donna

TITLE: SubSurdity: Vignettes from Jasper Lane

SERIES: SubSurdity #1

AUTHOR: Eric Arvin

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:160 pages (paperback)

BLURB: Jasper Lane is the perfect, sunny, American neighborhood, or so it would seem. Melinda Gold is a young mother whose desire for position in the neighborhood is at odds with her upbringing by her ultra conservative mother. The same mother who makes life hell for Melinda’s son, Patrick; Cassie Bloom is the grand dame of Jasper Lane, living on a cul du sac and doing her best to annoy Melinda. But she has a secret of her own regarding her missing husband and son that only a few, including the transsexual Vera, know about; Rick has just moved into the neighborhood and has immediately fallen for the ex-Army man, James. Will he find the courage to go after what he wants?; Terrence, Rick’s good friend, has found out he has a son from a one-night stand years before where he dallied with heterosexuality; and the perfect couple Steve and Sandy have run into a rough patch which forces Steve to find employment in the porn industry. All these stories interlock and play out in a brightly comic way with gay porn parties, sexually confused animals, and dead bodies all being thrown in the mix. It may not be perfect, but it sure is fun.

REVIEW:

I’d never before read a book that made me feel resentful and jealous. SubSurdity changed that. Why, you may ask, was I experiencing these ill emotions? Did I covet Melinda Gold’s perfectly manicured lawn? Did I wish I was blessed with Sandy Jones’s impressively abundant rack? Did I want to replace Patrick Gold as the filling in that gay man sandwich? Hmmm, actually…

No, what I’m sinfully lusting after is a house on Jasper Lane. Why can’t the street I live on be like Jasper Lane? It’s actually a bit sad to realize that this street doesn’t truly exist. I just became completely invested in the lives of all these characters to the point that I felt their loss when I finished reading.

I’ve noticed that quite a few people compare SubSurdity to Desperate Housewives and I can’t argue with them. I was especially aware of the parallelsbetween the two during the opening scenes of the book when I could hear the voice of Melinda Gold introducing me to Jasper Lane with a Mary Alice-esque type narration.

I’m not even going to attempt to explain the plot in any depth because if you’re anything like me, even reading the blurb got you a tad messed up. There are a shit ton of characters, all connected to one another who have their own stories to tell. At first, as each new character was introduced, I was worried I would be overwhelmed and lose track of who was who but because each character had their turn in the spotlight and each voice was distinctive I didn’t find the point of view hopping confusing at all.

I adored every single character in this story- the good, the bad and the ugly. (I guess ugly would refer to farting, evil Nanna who is described as looking like an uncircumcised penis.)

The writing itself was pure Eric Arvin, and I’m struggling a bit here to come up with the words to explain what I mean by that. This was the fourth Eric Arvin story I’ve read and he has a way of constructing sentences that I tend to recognize as uniquely his, though his style will vary with the tone of the book he’s writing. Whereas passages from Mingled Destinies seemed to flow in an almost lyrical fashion, I found SubSurdity to be choppier, more focused on what the characters can see and feel. Which only added to the crazy, almost out of control feel to this story.

Some parts were slightly sad but they were followed by happy, happier and smile so hard your face will hurt hilarity. I chose the following excerpt because it’s a perfect example of life on Jasper Lane.

Nanna pulled out of the drive, heading down the street at a turtle’s pace.

“Let me go!” Patrick yelled, as he tore himself out of his mother’s grasp and took off after Nanna.

Melinda fell back into her manicured bushes. She was on her feet again in an instant, chasing after her son, calling his name in a dogwhistle’s pitch.

Nanna looked over her shoulder, determined to escape with her prize. “Stay away from me, boy!” she bellowed.

She tried to weave, thinking that she might be able to lose him. She crouched down behind the wheel like a granny boxcar racer.

“Mother! Patrick!” Melinda cried running after both of them.

Cassie and the lawn party followed the parade of absurdity down the street. Gayhound, too, began nipping at the wheels of the cart.

“Shoo! Git, you queer dog!” Nanna spit.

There was no real need to run, though. Patrick caught up with Nanna within seconds. She fought him, slapping and biting his hands away. As Melinda arrived, Patrick tossed Nanna into Melinda’s arms and took control of the moving cart. Melinda held tight to her mother.

“What are you doing with my cart?” Nanna raged. Gayhound barked at her in ferocious yelps.

Patrick put it in reverse, and proceeded back to the house at a more intense speed.

“You bought it with my money!” Patrick clarified. “It’s mine to do with what I want!”

Nanna fought with Melinda to free herself, and at last succeeded by kicking her daughter in the shin. Melinda went down, holding her leg as the old woman took off after Patrick.

“Go, Patrick!” cheered Cassie and the lawn party, as they galloped alongside the cart with their drinks.

This book isn’t going to be for everybody. If you’re looking to read something with a traditional romantic storyline then maybe save this for another time. But if you’re looking for something unique, engaging and very probably addictive, then this is me waving SubSurdity in your face yelling READ! READ! READ!!!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:Dreamspinner Press  ::  Amazon  ::  ARe